Dave the OAP
Well-known member
Be interesting how the stewards react to sainz dangerous driving on checo! It looked like he hit a hard left straight into the side of the red bull….that could have caused serious injury to both of them.
[Other Sport] F1 2024
- Thread starter Audax
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Switched on at 1.55pm to watch the formation lap only to see people wasting champagne on the podium. What a cock up. Doh!!
The Colonel
Well-known member
- Sep 4, 2023
- 224
Big psychological win for Lando today to finish ahead of Verstappen from where he started. I know he needs to make up an average of 7 or 8 points points race and this was only 3, but I think it's a big blow to Red Bull. "If we can't finish ahead of him when we start 9 places higher, when can we?" must be going through their minds.
- Thread starter
- #624
Errr, no. Absolutely 100% Perez's fault. Sainz drifted slightly to the left, but he was following the natural racing line along that stretch and Perez was the driver behind with full visibility of what was going on (vs Sainz only having a tiny mirror to look into). Perez didn't maintain the gap between his front right and Sainz's rear left, there was a touch, and that dragged Sainz across in front of Perez.
Entirely avoidable incident, and Perez is the one who failed to avoid it.
On a separate note ... I'm not convinced Piastri is out of the title hunt himself. He's in some very fine form at the moment. There was a stat shown repeatedly during the C4 highlights package at the end of the race that Piastri has scored the most points across the last 7 races (since Verstappen last won). Looking at the top 4 in the championship:
Verstappen - 94 points (0 wins, 2x 2nd)
Norris - 104 points (1x win, 1x 2nd, 2x 3rd)
Leclerc - 87 points (1x win, 1x 2nd, 2x 3rd)
Piastri - 135 points (2x win, 3x 2nd)
There's now 7 races remaining. Piastri is 91 points behind Verstappen. 7 weekends remaining (inc. 3 sprint weekends). He needs to close the gap by 13 points per race. It's a big ask, a very big ask. It'll require Red Bull to continue to struggle, and maybe a DNF for Verstappen somewhere along the way. But he's not out of it yet, especially given those 3 sprint weekends could provide a little help.
Looking at Norris: His calculation has now moved from needing 8 points per race to needing 8.5 per race on average. It's not a huge shift, especially given the sprint weekends where if he's able to finish ahead of Verstappen he gets a little boost over and above a race win advantage.
AstroSloth
Well-known member
- Dec 29, 2020
- 1,380
So Red Bull have figured out where they went wrong with their development and it was...
Barcelona last year.
Although he's not everyone's cup of tea (to put it lightly), you can't deny how ridiculously talented he is.
Barcelona last year.
So Verstappen was actually winning with a car that for their other driver was almost undriveable, and it was only when they really messed it up this year he's started having issues.
Although he's not everyone's cup of tea (to put it lightly), you can't deny how ridiculously talented he is.
Absolutely. It also shows just how little Checo’s input is valued at Red Bull that he was warning them about this over a year ago and they essentially went “sorry I can’t hear you over the sound of Max winning”
- Thread starter
- #628
The flipside to this is that Alonso has openly talked about how having Stroll at Aston Martin has helped the team. He's highlighted how his ability to flexibly adapt to a poor car and "drive around" any issues the car is having is detrimental to finding the best set up (on the day) and providing precise feedback to help improve the car in the future. In a bit of a back-handed compliment, he mentioned how Stroll can't drive around a problem car and that's been helpful for the team in more rapidly identifying bad set up directions and understanding bad upgrades.
In a different context, there's a similar story playing out at VCARB. Ricciardo hasn't been able to consistently match Tsunoda this season, but both Tsunoda and the team have mentioned how having Ricciardo there has improved the whole team. The paradox here is that Ricciardo joining has improved Tsunoda (Tsunoda has talked about how Ricciardo has helped improved his mental side, and Tsunoda, the team, and Ricciardo have talked about how Ricciardo helped with finding better set up direction on last year's Alpha Tauri and has helped drive set up / development this season as well). This may be part of the reason why Ricciardo a) hasn't been dropped in favour of Lawson (because dropping Ricciardo might also result in a loss of performance for Tsunoda) and b) was eventually landed on as the leading contender to replace Perez if he was dropped after Spa.
In a different context, there's a similar story playing out at VCARB. Ricciardo hasn't been able to consistently match Tsunoda this season, but both Tsunoda and the team have mentioned how having Ricciardo there has improved the whole team. The paradox here is that Ricciardo joining has improved Tsunoda (Tsunoda has talked about how Ricciardo has helped improved his mental side, and Tsunoda, the team, and Ricciardo have talked about how Ricciardo helped with finding better set up direction on last year's Alpha Tauri and has helped drive set up / development this season as well). This may be part of the reason why Ricciardo a) hasn't been dropped in favour of Lawson (because dropping Ricciardo might also result in a loss of performance for Tsunoda) and b) was eventually landed on as the leading contender to replace Perez if he was dropped after Spa.
- Thread starter
- #629
RUMOUR ALERT
There is a rumour that has emerged that Lawson's contract with Red Bull actually has some form of clause around giving him 5 race weekends this season. It is now being reported as part of this rumour that Lawson will replace Ricciardo as of this weekend.
So far I've only seen a single source for this, but it's being treated by some as a reliable source.
Edit: Ralf Schumacher now sharing the same. Described as an "open secret" in the paddock. Latest version is that Ricciardo drives this weekend, then Lawson will be announced as taking over from the Austin round.
There is a rumour that has emerged that Lawson's contract with Red Bull actually has some form of clause around giving him 5 race weekends this season. It is now being reported as part of this rumour that Lawson will replace Ricciardo as of this weekend.
So far I've only seen a single source for this, but it's being treated by some as a reliable source.
Edit: Ralf Schumacher now sharing the same. Described as an "open secret" in the paddock. Latest version is that Ricciardo drives this weekend, then Lawson will be announced as taking over from the Austin round.
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- Thread starter
- #630
FP1 in Singapore done.
Norris quick, as are both the Ferrari's. Piastri session comprised initially by a rear tyre issue, so not sur whether he's out of position or genuinely slower so far. Verstappen has pace in that Red Bull again, but even so appears to be behind McLaren and Ferrari still.
Edit:
FP2 also now done. Most relevant session for qually / race as it's the only P session under lights. Rather changes the complexion of things: Norris and the two Ferrari's (in particular Leclerc) still looking strongest. Red Bull, however, might be in trouble. Verstappen struggling for both one-lap and long run pace, doesn't appear happy. Piastri also appears to be struggling relative to Norris. Interestingly, both VCARB's were very quick - 4th and 6th, but there's a very tight gaggle of times from P3 back to P13 (that whole group separated by 0.450s, but within it P4 to P7 is 0.020s and then P9 to P13 is 0.143s).
Qually prediction as things stand at the moment:
- Q1 will see both Alpine and both Sauber eliminated. The 5th driver to go could be almost anyone ... even Verstappen appears to be at risk.
- Getting through to Q3 ... the only drivers that currently look to be "safe" are Norris and Leclerc. Everyone else at risk of dropping out in Q2 if they fail to put an error-free lap together. It is that tight.
Norris quick, as are both the Ferrari's. Piastri session comprised initially by a rear tyre issue, so not sur whether he's out of position or genuinely slower so far. Verstappen has pace in that Red Bull again, but even so appears to be behind McLaren and Ferrari still.
Edit:
FP2 also now done. Most relevant session for qually / race as it's the only P session under lights. Rather changes the complexion of things: Norris and the two Ferrari's (in particular Leclerc) still looking strongest. Red Bull, however, might be in trouble. Verstappen struggling for both one-lap and long run pace, doesn't appear happy. Piastri also appears to be struggling relative to Norris. Interestingly, both VCARB's were very quick - 4th and 6th, but there's a very tight gaggle of times from P3 back to P13 (that whole group separated by 0.450s, but within it P4 to P7 is 0.020s and then P9 to P13 is 0.143s).
Qually prediction as things stand at the moment:
- Q1 will see both Alpine and both Sauber eliminated. The 5th driver to go could be almost anyone ... even Verstappen appears to be at risk.
- Getting through to Q3 ... the only drivers that currently look to be "safe" are Norris and Leclerc. Everyone else at risk of dropping out in Q2 if they fail to put an error-free lap together. It is that tight.
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mikeyjh
Well-known member
To paraphrase Mitchell Johnson - Why are you chirping now mate, not winning races? - Don't let the door hit you on the way out Max....
Max Verstappen: Issues such as swearing punishment 'not a way of continuing' in Formula 1
Max Verstappen says issues such as his punishment for swearing may "decide my future" and are "really tiring".
www.bbc.co.uk
I do feel sorry for Max here TBH, given he’s not a native English speaker. It feels like this should all have been sorted out much more low key and with a request to not do it again but the FIA seem to want to make a stand, which feels ridiculous.
- Thread starter
- #637
Dominant display from Norris. Shame Piastri didn't qualify better - think he had the pace to beat Verstappen as well if he'd started in front of the Mercs.
Norris cuts the gap by 7 points, after Ricciardo was pitted and took the fastest lap late in the race. That could be an important moment, as it now means that Verstappen wins the WDC if he finishes 2nd in all remaining (full and sprint) races.
Speaking of Ricciardo; all signs now point to him being replaced by Liam Lawson from Austin onwards. While the team have not yet confirmed it, the language being used by all concerned (VCARB senior management, Red Bull senior team and Verstappen, and Ricciardo himself) is indicative of Singapore having been his last race. It's been coming, and I can't say I'm surprised. I do remain convinced that if he'd been slotted into Perez' seat as widely expected after the Spa race, we may have seen a different story. But he's been unable to consistently beat Tsunoda, had a couple of difficult qually sessions more recently, and it's possible Red Bull need to urgently identify a future replacement for Verstappen - I suspect 2025 will be his last season with Red Bull, the only question being whether he leaves F1 entirely or switches to Mercedes or Aston Martin.
Norris cuts the gap by 7 points, after Ricciardo was pitted and took the fastest lap late in the race. That could be an important moment, as it now means that Verstappen wins the WDC if he finishes 2nd in all remaining (full and sprint) races.
Speaking of Ricciardo; all signs now point to him being replaced by Liam Lawson from Austin onwards. While the team have not yet confirmed it, the language being used by all concerned (VCARB senior management, Red Bull senior team and Verstappen, and Ricciardo himself) is indicative of Singapore having been his last race. It's been coming, and I can't say I'm surprised. I do remain convinced that if he'd been slotted into Perez' seat as widely expected after the Spa race, we may have seen a different story. But he's been unable to consistently beat Tsunoda, had a couple of difficult qually sessions more recently, and it's possible Red Bull need to urgently identify a future replacement for Verstappen - I suspect 2025 will be his last season with Red Bull, the only question being whether he leaves F1 entirely or switches to Mercedes or Aston Martin.
- Nov 15, 2006
- 4,270
This guy certainly has an agenda but Lewis being ignored by Mercedes when qualifying third and arguing against starting on softs, and being ignored, is pretty damning of Toto and Mercedes. Manipulation to get the new number one to finish above him or just incompetence?
- Thread starter
- #639
I subscribe to a much simpler explanation: the Mercedes strategists got too excited about possibly using the soft tyre advantage off the start line to jump ahead of Max Verstappen. It didn't work.
TBH that was exactly what I thought, only I thought they might be trying to jump both Max and Lando with softs. I wasn't aware at the time they were scrubbed though!